Locking box



T. H. GAGEN v Jan. 2, 1940.

LOCKING BOX 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 3, 1937 T. H. GAGEN Jan. 2, 1940.

LOCKING Box Filed May s, 193'/ 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

YPatcn-ted'mJan. 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE vanimal z claims, (c1. 229-16) My invention relates to paper boxes, using the term paper in a broad sense, and is particular- 1y directed to an interlocking fastening which will. not only be strong and snug-iitting without tape or adhesive, but also be easy to fasten and not accidentally become unfastened; wherein the fastening lelements per se coact with, other Aend elements to increase the end thickness and wherein the disposition of parts contributes to m economy inthe use of material. 4 The phase of my invention which ismentioned above is alsoof valuable effect in connection with another phase of my invention, namely abox made from a single blank and-having two subl5 stantially complete-shells, one entirelyenclosing or almost entirely` enclosing the other, bothparts held assembled and closed by a single lock. 'Part of the second phase of the invention is a blank for the purpose which permits an economio cal cutting layout, minimizing waste of sheet material.

operations are reduced to `o. minimum and-in which 'the amount of permanent corner fastening required' by--tape sealing or` by corner stith- 1 ing .is reduced to a requirement'ot one place' only, while the box still retains all the characteristics oi.' a double shell .box exceptthat the parts donotgslide one within the other. 30 To accomplishment @t foregoingand related ends, said inventionthen.. consists "ci the means hereinafter fully described and 'particulax-1y Dointdoutin the v 1 The annexed drawings spd-.the following de- V scription'-set forth injdetil Y embodying the inventionich disclosed means constitutinghowever, but @Que of various 'structural -iormsin which' the principle ot theinven- -tion-maybeullcd.v In the accompanying-'drawings Fig. i shows the na-'blank fromxwhich one form offmy improved. box'is made;

Fig. 2 is a perspective of the box made irom the blank of Fig. 1, shown closed in solid lines;` Fig. 3'is a perspective ofthe boxset up and partly open; f

Fig. 4 is a larger scale elevation, partly in section, of the innri'ront, taken on the 'plane I-l of Fig. 5, in the direction-of the arrows; f

so Fig. Bisa larger scale transverse vertical'sec-- tion on the plane or' Figs. 2 and 6, in the direction of the arrows; "1'

6 is aflarger scale "longitudinal vertical sectioii` on the plane l-lof Figs. 2 and 5, in the Il direction-ot the arrows; u

i Furthermore, my invention aims to provide a box of this sort in which the assembly" certain structure Fig. rl shows the iiat blank for another form of my improved box; l

- Fig. 8 is a perspective of a box set up from the `blank of Fig. A'7, with 'one end open and the other closed. and also showing a slight modication 5 -at the closed end;

Fig. 9 is a vertical section on the plane 9--9 of- Fig. 10 with some elements in elevation and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 10 is a larger scale partial plan, with some 10 elements in elevation, taken on the horizontalplane Illl0 of Fig. 9, looking upward.

It will be apparent that my improved box, in all of its forms, includes a locking device consisting of a single tongue which so co-acts with l5 the inner edges of a divided tuck flap asto be pinched by those edges, the edges themselves being specially formed for the purpose, and thereby constituting an interlock betweenl the tuck iiap and the tongue. Y v 20 The opposing relations and the relative planes in which the divided tuck nap and the tongue lie varies according .to the shape and nature of the box to which the locking device is applied, preferred embodiments being herein illustrated and4 as 'more fully described' in Aconjunction with the v particular boxes to which applied.

In the form illustrated inligs. 1 to 6 inclusive, I have applied this locking-device to a box which' is of the double wall variety, and which 4by -my 30 lock and the addition oi' a fastener at only one of the dihedral corners, is made up intoan as-V sembled box having four walls of doublelthickness and two of single thickness. -The shape of this particular'box also gives rise to economies '35 of cutting blanks from sheet material on account of the peculiar shape of the blank. It will be observed that this doublewalled box is formed lfrom a unitary blank. f

The blank willI of course vary in the propor- 40 tions of its parts according to the desired iinished dimensions of thebox. The speciijicA blank illustrated in Fig. 1 and made up into the. box shown in Figs. 2 to 6 inclusive, is shallow, rectangular in plan, slightly larger from'front to rear than 45 fromsidetoside.

Such terms las front, rear, top, bottom, sides and ends, are used in the sp'ecliication and in such claims as read upon-this embodiment with reference to the relationsv of partsin Fig. 3 and 5o are intended for description and identiiication, but not as limitations.

The blank. Fig. 1, is Lshaped in general-,outline, thus adapting itself toveconomical lay-out of the sheet, as will be understood by box makg5 l front D, while the inner shell of the box con-y sists of left side E, inner back F, right side G, tuck ap H', H2, (generally` mentioned hereafter as H), tongue J', J2, (generally mentioned hereafter as J), inner bottom K', K2, K3, (generally mentioned hereafter as K), and inner top L', L2, L3, (generally mentioned hereafter as L). The two parts of the tuck flap H are each inwardly terminated by curved edges 2 which widen out toward the base of the flap, forming corners 3 which bind the edges of the tongue J as is best seen in Figs. 2 and 10. The tongue J is rooted to the outer back D at the crease 4 and is itself transversely creased at 5. In the blank the tongue is directly opposite the opening between the parts of the tuck flap H, and the tongue width is substantially equal to the distance 33, so that in the assembled box the tongue is entered into the space between the corner 3, 3 at the root of the tuck ap H, and there held.

In the blank there is a full cut along the ultimate left edge 8 of the bottom C, separating it from the inner bottom panel K'. Thus the only attachment of the upper part of the blank to the lower part is along the bending crease 9 between D and E.

Each of the panels E, F and G carries Wings K', L', and so on, the adjacent edges of which are cut diagonally as at l0, |21 and |3, and 20, 2|, 22 and 23 so as to'abut and not overlap when the inner portion of the box is set up, as shown in Fig. 3. The proportions of the wings L', L2 and L3 are such that when assembled a central opening is left by edges M, I and I6 of these parts, which opening is of the size and shape of the tongue J, as is apparent in Fig. 3.

- Thus, when the box is completely lled and is closed, the tongue forms another element of the inner top, making the latter complete.` Although not so shown in the present embodiment, it would be easily possible, if desirable, to so shape the elements of the inner bottom K as not to leave any corresponding space.

When set up, the edge 30 of the right side G abuts the edge 3| of the outer frontD and the two are fastened by adhesive tape 32 or other suitable means; Thus, in order to ll the box, the inner top wings L', L2, L3 are raised, although this raised position is not shown in the drawings.

Assuming the box to be assembled as in Fig. 3, filled (although no filling is shown `in that iigure), and the inner top L laid down flat, the tongue J will be bent further back along the line 4 than the position shown, and the tuck H inserted behind D and in front of the edges 35 and 36. When the tuck ap H is about half way down, the outer tongue portion J2 will be inserted between the corners 3, 3, which can be accomplished by reason of the bend in the tongue, and as the tuck ap H is moved down to final seating, the tongue is moved in, so that in the closed box it occupies the dotted line position J of Fig. 2, thus filling the vacant space in the inner top, and by the binding' action of the corners 3 prevents lifting of the lid A.

Thus the box is closed with double thickness throughout substantially its entire area except at the ends G and E, and the outer lid is iastened down by a tongue which is diilicult to extract.

The application of my lock to another form of box is shown in Figs. 7 to 10 inclusive, where the tongue and flap combination is employed on each end of the box, the box being otherwise an ordinary single thickness container which may be either open-ended with iront and bottom permanently closed by a tape 6|, or may be formed without a tape, as desired. Whether or not a tape is required depends upon such factors as the size of the box, the weight of load it is designed to carry and the roughness of usage to which it may be subjected.

In this form the blank comprises creases and edges defining front M, top N, back O, bottom P, inner end flaps Q and Q', outer ends R, tuck aps S' and S2, (collectively designated as S), and locking tongues generally designated as T, rooted at the crease 69 but divided into two parts T' and T2 by a transverse crease 15. The parts may conveniently be so proportioned that the tongue T fills the space between flaps Q and Q' when the box is closed and fastened.

It will be-apparent that the tuck flaps S and tongues T are analogous to the corresponding elements H and J of Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, although the general construction of the box brings them into conjunction from differently disposed panels of the blank. The tuck flap S is separated into its parts S' and S2 by inner edges 62, which form corners 63 with the end panel R, obviously similar to the corresponding parts 2 and 3 of Figs. 1 to 6.

Thus, to form and close the box, the parts are bent along the appropriate creases into the relationship shown in Fig. 8. If desired, a tape 6| connects the abutting edges 55 and 66 of the front M and bottom P respectively, as shown in the lefthalf of Fig. 8. f

To close the box the flaps Q, Q' are swung inwardly as shown in Fig. 9, the end R is turned up and the tuck flap S inserted above the upper edges 16, 61 of Q and Q', and beneath the top N. Before the tuck i'lap S is seated, the portion T2 of the tongue T will be started into the space 63-`-63, the bend line 65 allowing the necessary exibility for the purpose. As the tuck flap S is moved fully inward the tongue T is further inserted so that when the box is closed the end presents a smooth appearance similar to the front of the box 'of Fig. 2. However, in the present form the tongue T lies vertically as shown in Fig. 9. The box is thus locked in all directions, because the edges 61 and 16 bear against S2 and S', respectively, preventing the top N from lifting, and the edge 68 bears against the bottom P, preventing the bottom from rising. The tongue T locks in the corners 63, as 'shown in Fig. 10, preventing S from sliding out.

The tightness of the lock is to some extent dependent upon the accuracy of fit of the parts and the stiffness of the material. Thus, if it is desired that the box shall not be too dicult to open, the tongue T can be made slightly narrower so as not to t too snugly in the space |3--63,v

and other clearances can correspondingly be left somewhat free. On the other hand, by cutting all parts to close-tting dimensions, the box can be locked so tightly as to require breaking or cutting along some of the iront lines, such as the fold 69 at the root of the tongue T or the aromas 4 y 3 fold 'Il at the root of the tuck nap S. before the vbox can be opened. n

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have invented a lock adapted to various forms of 5 boxes, which'rmly secures the parts of the boxes in their closed relation, and also firmly secures Aitself againstunlocking, and also have invented various forms of boxes in which full advantage may be taken of the tight and rm character of lo my improved lock. My invention also offers the advantages of simplicity and economy of material, and readiness of assembly.

' Other modes4 of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one 15 explained, change being made as regards the 'structure herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and dis- 20 tinctly claim as my invention:

l. A box of the character described comprising in combination interior and exterior casings, the interior casing comprising a unitary .succession of walls separated by bending creases, wings 25 attached to opposite sides of said walls adapted `to be folded at right angles thereto in the iinished box, the wings on each side of said walls comprising partial surfaces with edges angular in the abutting in the v'assembly and having a combined area substantially equal to the area of-a contiguous wall of the outer casing.

the exterior casing comprising a front wall attached in the blank to an end .of said successive 5 walls, and having a bottom, a back. and .a top successively attached thereto, and locking in alignment on the outward edges of said front and top respectively.

2. A double shell box comprising in combina- 10 tion innerv top and bottom elements hinged to box side walls. a top, bottom, front and back,'a locking tongue hinged to said front, a tuck flap hinged to said top, the front being hinged to one said side wall, and said top, bottom, front 15 and back being adapted to overlie said inner top and bottom, the inner top and bottom being formdin segments equal in area to the outer top and bottom, edges on said top wall seg-4 ments deiining a space, when thesbox is closed, go substantially equal to the area of said locking tongue, and said locking tongue lying, ,when the box is locked, substantially inthe plane of said inner top and said tuck flap lying, when the box is locked, behind and in a plane contiguous to l vthe outer front. Y

THOS. H. GAGBN. 

